


Book Corner

by Ghostfries



Category: Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Genre: Assorted manga references, F/F, Fluff, Haiji is there for like 1 line cuz I don't want him, mild injury detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostfries/pseuds/Ghostfries
Summary: An attempt to get Toko to read manga leads Komaru and Jack all over Towa City.
Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Genocider Syo | Genocide Jack/Naegi Komaru, Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, Genocider Syo | Genocide Jack/Naegi Komaru
Kudos: 52





	Book Corner

"Komaru, no," whined Toko as Komaru pulled out yet another stack of graphic novels.

"Komaru, yes," insisted Komaru, setting out the manga on the floor between them. Toko hissed and leaned away like she was a vampire exposed to a crucifix. "Come on, Toko, I read your weird book. Now you have to keep your end of the bargain."

"W-What do you mean, weird?!" Toko recoiled. "Even as a child I could tell! The author's talent for symbolism, the juxtaposition of past and present, all of it was genius! It's because y-your generation grew up with manga rotting their brains, you need every plot twist spelled out to you… I pity you people so lacking in imagination t-that you can't pay attention unless the story's in the form of a comic."

"But it was like 300 pages long…" Komaru whined.

"300 pages of spellbinding world-building and compelling characters!" snapped an offended Toko. She'd even gone to the trouble of choosing a shorter book (from a house they looted while taking shelter from Monokumas) and she would not stand for this.

Komaru ignored her and gestured to the manga again. "Anyway, which one do you want to read?"

"..."

"Uh, let me change the question. Which sounds most appealing out of these options?"

Toko scanned her eyes over the covers, trying not to look directly at them longer than she had to. "Y-You're the veteran manga reader, you recommend me something."

Komaru was at a loss. She picked up the books and scrutinized the blurbs. Nervousness and excitement mingled together on her face as she shoved one towards Toko. "This one is really popular! It's about these people who are trapped in a city and they have to fight against _giants,_ well they're not _called_ giants but that's basically what they are-"

"That hits too close to home… weirdly enough." Toko flapped her hand. "Not enough escapism for my liking."

"It was escapism at the time…" Komaru said, in a quieter voice. She moved onto the next. "Okay, how about this one? It's about this girl who falls in love with her childhood friend, but then they get separated, and when they reunite he's like a _toootally_ different person!"

"...And?" frowned Toko, unconvinced.

"What do you mean, and?" Komaru replied.

"That doesn't seem like much of a basis for a story. It's more… a thing that happens." Toko muttered. "Does she still go after the guy, or...?"

"Yeah!" Komaru made excited fists and bobbed up and down. "It's about how she falls in love with the new person he is now, but she also misses his old self. They're so sweet, the main couple has so much chemistry and care for each other so much!"

"So it's one of those unrealistic, mushy shoujo that gives you diabetes." Toko said, regretting even humoring Komaru. "See, romance i-isn't like that. Love is a more multifaceted beast than it's portrayed as in these flights of fantasy. A guy in manga might lend the girl his jacket in the rain, right? But in r-real life, nobody would give up his own warmth for a girl as mousy and quiet as a shoujo protagonist! Shoujo manga is the leading cause of unrealistic expectations! It's the girls who read th-these things that end up d-dating bad boys, because they think a guy pinning you to the wall is an acceptable romantic gesture!"

"I'm sorry, uh, what was the point you were trying to make?" Komaru scratched her cheek absently.

"Real romance is gritty, woman! It isn't like your pure, snow-white manga where the most that happens is a k-kiss in the final volume. Love begets lust, possession, and other dangers."

"Dangers…?" Komaru repeated.

"Love is synonymous with suffering!" screeched Toko. "R-Rather than butterflies, it's as if your heart is being tickled by a _scalpel_ and torn open! All dark emotions stem from love. That's what makes it so good."

"...What?"

Toko stared at her as if she were stupid. "You have to depict that soul-wrenching agony when writing about love, or it becomes wish-fulfillment garbage."

"Duly noted," said an unamused Komaru, putting that particular volume down. She moved on again to the next. To her surprise, Toko was looking it over interestedly.

"The style is alright," she murmured. "It's n-not the usual moeblob nonsense, so that's something."

Komaru's face brightened. "Right? I wasn't sure about it at first but the story really draws you in!"

"Hm." Toko mused to herself. "Baudelaire…"

"What?" asked Komaru.

"He was a French poet." Toko said. "To think they'd make a manga inspired by his work…"

"That's good, right?" beamed Komaru. "If it's based off literature then you'll like it. It has lots of dark things in it."

"I don't like things that are d-dark because they're dark… the darkness needs to have substance, too," Toko nitpicked. "In addition to that… this is the second volume."

"Yeah, that was all I could find," Komaru admitted, sheepishly. "But you'll be okay. You'll pick up the plot soon."

"A-Are you asking me to _read the second volume without reading the first?_ That's insane!" Toko gave a look of revulsion. "You wouldn't start reading a novel from the middle, would you?"

"But it's manga. It usually doesn't matter much if you read it out of order." Komaru said. "I buy the volumes I can find, and then fill in the missing ones later. It's kind of good. Like, even once you've read the ending, you can continue experiencing the story."

"I feel ill," said Toko. "Even i-if I don't like manga, I would have the decency to r-read it from beginning to end…"

"Fine!" Komaru puffed out her cheeks. "I'll find the first volume, and then you're going to read it and eat your words!"

"Yeah, sure… I doubt these houses would randomly have it anyway."

Komaru began to put the books into a pile again, ready to be stacked away.

"Hey, don't be h-hasty! I'm still bored here!" Toko objected, reaching out with a hesitant arm.

"I figured you'd rather be bored than read any of my stupid manga," Komaru said, her voice suggesting she still had her pouty face on as she faced away towards the shelf.

"I-I didn't say that! I mean, I did say it was stupid… more than once… but…" Toko was scowling and blushing at the same time. "I was thinking we could mock it together and laugh over how bad it is, like watching a horror movie…"

"And why couldn't you just _say_ that?" asked a weary Komaru, gesturing exasperatedly.

"I don't know…" Toko said quietly, biting her thumb. "I'm an author, okay? It's in our nature to not say d-directly what we mean."

"Geez… you're harder to interpret than any book…" Komaru lazily picked up the end of Toko's braid, feeling it between her fingers and letting it go. She repeated the motion a few times, being gifted a watery glare by Toko, who was too flustered to bring it up.

"K-Komaru… are you bored listening to me all the time?" Toko mumbled. "Even when I try to do things with you, my n-negativity won't switch off. I get annoyed just hearing myself talk, s-so it must be ten times worse for you."

Komaru laced her hands around Toko before forcefully pulling her over, the two falling sideways onto the abandoned bed. 

"Waagh!" Toko laughed softly, despite her best efforts. "Omaru, what the hell are you doing-?"

"Tickle tickle tickle," Komaru's innocent, angelic features were bathed in intimidating shadow as she reached out and attacked her companion.

"Agh!! I yield! Have mercy, please!"

Toko didn't do 'ha-ha' laughing, it just wasn't something she did. Instead, she would silently shake with amusement that robbed the air from her lungs, making unholy sounds from the back of her throat as she gasped for air. It was creepy the first few times, but Komaru was used to it. 

"Seriously, I can't breathe-" Toko grabbed a pillow from the bed and used it to fend the girl off. "Enough already!"

"That's your punishment for being so down on yourself all the time." said Komaru, her face obscured by a well-placed pillow. "If you say anything like that again, I'll tickle you until you can't breathe!"

"You're m-more sadistic than you look, you know that?" Toko complained.

"Hm." Komaru examined her arms, flexing what little muscle she had. "Must be from fighting Monokumas all day. I'm a war-hardened veteran, jaded from years of combat, but everything changed when I met a strange girl one fateful night…"

"Don't go turning our lives into a manga plot in your head!" Toko fussed, aggressively fluffing up Komaru's hair in anger. "A-Also, did you have to add the strange part?!"

"No, it's fine!" Komaru insisted, ignoring the fact that her head was puffing up like a dandelion. "Heroines who are a little kooky are more popular!"

Toko gasped. "Me?! I'd be a terrible heroine! The main girl would be you! A normal highschool girl who's all cute and nice and shapely… body pillows of you would sell out!"

"Oh, come on, Toko, I don't think that's quite true… wait, shapely?"

"And look at me! I-I have no cuteness, no sex appeal, nothing to endear me to an audience-"

"Forget the audience _._ You've endeared yourself to _me,"_ said Komaru with a giggle.

Toko screamed and kicked her off the bed. "Aaaahhh stop being nice stopbeingnice stopbeingnice!!! I'm gonna seriously die!!"

"You might be overreacting just a bit…" Komaru laughed awkwardly. Toko grumbled and hid her face into the blankets.

"Y-You're so _annoying!_ " 

Komaru shrank back, her mischievous expression replaced with a shy one. "Oh… sorry."

Toko almost choked on the words she was trying to eat. "N-N-N-N-No! I d-didn't mean it, you know that! I-If you get genuinely upset at my affectionate jabs, how am I supposed to interact with you?!"

"Oh, no. I've spent too much time with you to be offended by something like that." Komaru peeked up at her slyly. "But you could… stand to try saying something _nice._ "

Toko fell silent, holding her chin as if deep in thought. "...Um… uh…"

"C'mon, c'mon!" Komaru clapped to cheer her on, but Toko only looked more lost.

"You're… g-good at… killing Monokumas?" attempted the author. "Not as good as _her,_ but… you're okay."

"Thanks…?"

"And… uh…" Toko stuttered. "You… a-aren't _totally_ painful to look at."

"Tha- wait, 'totally'?"

"Ugh, this is so embarrassing! The worst!" She screeched, grabbing her head. "I don't know what to say! I-It's embarrassing to admit to _liking things!_ "

"There, there," Komaru shepherded the confused soul into her arms. "You tried your best, Toko."

"Wahh, Omaruuu…"

When the nervous wreck limply gave in to the embrace, Komaru picked up a manga and started reading it behind Toko's back.

-

"Oi, De ☆ ko ☆ ma ☆ ru!!!"

A cackling figure bolted around her, so fast she could barely perceive it. Before long, it had set its sights on her and made a beeline towards her. All Komaru could do was brace for impact.

"Hi, Jack…" she murmured, in pain from her back hitting the ground. Genocide Jack had jumped onto her like an overexcited homicidal puppy and was now scanning her surroundings.

"Huh! So this is where we're staying now?" She zipped from side to side, releasing Komaru and taking in their current accomodation. "It's so run down… not like that's a problem for me, though!"

Komaru rubbed her cheek. "Well, actually, I was thinking about doing some exploring."

"Hm~?" Genocide Jack tilted her head with a devious grin. "Whatforwhatfor?"

"There's a manga volume I need to get for Toko."

Jack's jaw dropped. "Wow, did you really get Miss Morose to read manga? Never thought I'd see the day!"

"But she refuses to read it unless it's in chronological order…" sighed Komaru.

"Yup, that sounds like her all right," said Jack. "Come to think of it, Dekomaru! Gimme another series, too! I'm done with the one about vampire butlers!"

"What did you think?" Komaru asked. 

"It was great!"

"Oh, I'm gla-"

She hadn't even gotten the words out before something went whizzing past her. She turned around to see the front cover of the book pinned to the wall with scissors. All of the pages were missing.

"J-Jack…" Komaru began. "Where's the story?"

"The story?" Jack repeated in a silly voice. "No, no, the story doesn't matter one bit. The characters were good-looking enough. Ahh, slicing up fictional boys just isn't the same, though…"

_I guess this is a way of enjoying manga too… right?_

"As much as it pains me to say this, I'll sacrifice my collection to you." Komaru said. "If it weans you off of killing real people, then…"

"Well, okay!" Jack replied cheerfully. "I won't stop you from sending the pretty boys my way!"

"In return… could you help me find this volume for Toko?" Komaru gave it a try.

"Hmmm." Jack mused. "Hmmmm, hmmm, hmmm…"

Komaru waited with bated breath.

"Okie dokie!" burst out Jack. "Ain't like I got anything better to do, anyway! Our resentment towards Monokuma is full to the brim, so I won't get bored of killing 'em for a long time!"

Komaru leapt forward and held Jack's hands in her own. "Thank you so much! You're the best, Jack!"

Jack poked out her tongue, because it was easier to do that than respond to genuine gratitude. "You don't have to thank me so much for helping with easy stuff. I'm a serial killer with strong moral fibre."

_That's an oxymoron…_

"Okay," said Komaru, apprehensive. "It'll probably take a while to find this, if there even are any copies of this specific volume. We might have to fight our way into lots of places, and come out with nothing to show for it."

"Yeah, so?" said Jack smugly. "We already spend our days investigating dead ends, what else is new."

"You have a point there…"

"Relax!" Jack crossed her arms. "I told you I'd help, didn't I? You're acting like you have some real low expectations of me!"

"That's not what I meant," protested Komaru.

"It's not just the other me, y'know?" Jack reached up and tussled Komaru's hair. "You better rely on me, too! Killing robots isn't the only way I can support you."

Komaru looked surprised. Then she broke out into a big smile. "I got it! Then, let's get to searching."

"Hey hey, don't just shrug off my ultra rare 1-in-100 chance pep talk event!"

-

The search continued for many days. While Toko had completely forgotten about the whole thing, Komaru and Jack persevered, looking all over the city for something Toko would like. As expected, it was not an easy task. Everywhere they wanted to explore was in disrepair, as usual. Komaru tried not to let it get her down.

"Ugh, I'm so boooored."

The same could not be said for Jack, and Komaru didn't blame her, honestly. Jack had nothing to gain from a gift to her alternate personality. If anything, it was surprising she'd tried for as long as she had.

Their adventures had taken them throughout the city. They finally reached their destination just as the sun was setting behind Towa Library.

"Will they even have manga in here?" Jack asked, gesturing with her scissors instead of pointing.

"I don't know," Komaru confessed. "But don't you think this is our best shot?"

"Whatever," Jack shrugged, evidently tired of this conversation, and took off up the steps to the entrance. "I'll get the goods and be outta there lickedy-split!"

"Ah-! Hey, wait for me!"

By the time Komaru was up the stairs, Jack was out of sight, having sped ahead in her boredom. Ugh, she was so reckless! They didn't know what could be inside here! Komaru would have to sneak her way around to avoid alerting any Monokuma or crazed children. Without Jack around, she couldn't afford to take risks.

She pressed herself against the first bookshelf, peering around the side both to find her companion and look for any manga. She couldn't see anything of note, so she'd have to proceed further.

The ground before her was littered with broken Monokuma parts, leaving an extremely obvious trail. Komaru followed the bits of debris, hands gripped tight on her hacking gun as she shuffled past each shelf. 

_Following her like this to achieve our goal… it feels almost like a fairy tale. Like a sci-fi version of Hansel and Gretel._

The only indication of Jack's whereabouts was occasional maniacal laughter and the scraping of metal on metal. Komaru smiled to herself. Even when she was being so irresponsible, Komaru couldn't stay mad at her.

Weaving her way through the labyrinth of literature (and leaving more than a few debris piles herself), she eventually found Jack staring at a solitary bookshelf with her back to her. She was pointing up, rustling through the books one by one.

Komaru started to grin and was just about to say something when something moved in the corner of her eye. She was trained - anything black and white was enough to stir her to action. She searched her pockets for ammo while a Junk Monokuma dragged itself towards them at surprising speed.

Too late, she realized it was going after Jack, not her.

"No!" Komaru screamed, jumping in between the Monokuma and Jack. 

"Eh?" Jack's head whipped around with her usual playful expression. Her eyes shot open as she took in the sight before her. "Dekomaru!"

Komaru slumped against her shoulder, her white shirt slowly changing hue. The Monokuma's claw was embedded in her left side, blood leaking out from each incision. She pawed uselessly at her wound, looking up at Jack with a kind of blank terror. 

Jack stared at first. Then her face twisted in rage, hackles raised like a wild animal driven into a corner. Komaru hadn't sensed this much bloodlust from her in a long time.

"How DARE YOU?!" She snarled, charging towards the enemy. "If you hurt Dekomaru… you die by my blade! NO EXCEPTIONS!"

Komaru couldn't even focus on Jack's battle. Her vision was too hazy for her to see what she was doing to the Monokuma, but judging by the sounds… it wasn't pleasant.

"It's a hundred years too soon for robots to be harassing high-school girls, ya perv!" yelled Jack, throwing a final pair of scissors between the Monokuma's eyes. They landed with a clunk, and the machine keeled over and began to emit smoke.

Jack quickly surveyed the area for any other Monokuma she'd missed before launching herself back to Komaru. She pried the girl's hands away from her stomach in a surprisingly gentle, coaxing way. Komaru's eyebrows knit together in worry, but she relented upon seeing Jack's unwavering gaze. She looked deadly serious, or… no… pleading, maybe. An expression that said, _please trust me._ Komaru allowed Jack to move her arms away and lift up her shirt.

"Jack…" Komaru whined, biting her lip.

"Shush, I'm just having a look, alright?!" Jack managed to find time to roll her eyes as she leaned in to evaluate the wound. Then she leaped backwards. "Yowch!"

"H-Huh? Is it that bad?!" Komaru exclaimed, her determination dwindling.

"What, no! Of course it's not that bad, you idiot! This is a low-level gash! Even a weakling like you won't die from this!" Jack cackled.

"Then what the heck was that reaction earlier?!"

"Shut u~p, Dekomaru," warned Jack, smiling dangerously.

"What are you do-"

A loud tearing sound echoed through the library, startling Komaru. She flinched and covered her ears, only to see Jack holding up a piece of long, black cloth.

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"A little bit of clothing damage," replied Jack. "Now, stay still as a statue, okay? I'm more used to _making_ wounds than _treating_ them."

Komaru obliged as Jack tied the fabric around her waist, tight enough to put pressure on the wound and stem the bleeding.

"I dunno how to do this properly… tch…" 

Komaru gave a trembling smile. "Thanks… You really are reliable, Jack."

"Not really. I got complacent and left you all by your lonesome. You're the one who…" She bit her overly long tongue and looked away. "...forget it. In any case, how many times do I have to tell you to quit it with the unnecessary gratitude?"

"Oh, right… sorry," offered Komaru. Jack shook her head incredulously and sighed.

"Whatever. Let's go to that place where the adults are hiding!" she said. "Haggy might be able to help us."

"Who's Haggy?" murmured an uncertain Komaru. Jack stumbled over her words.

"You know, the guy's mom! That hag!"

"What guy?!" Komaru persisted as Jack picked her up and ran out of the library.

"Man, I have one hell of a story to tell you, Dekomaru!!" Jack guffawed as the two rushed through the winding streets. "Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride…!"

-

Jack kicked the wall of the underground shelter, Komaru still reeling from both blood loss and the unbelievable events she'd learned of. They waited politely for a few seconds, trying to pretend the sewer didn't smell as bad as it did. 

"Grah! These guys have such slow reflexes!" Jack snapped, slamming her heel into the shutter repeatedly. "Open up, losers, we've got a casualty of war here!"

"H-Hey, don't damage that wall… what if you break it and Monokumas start showing u- AHHHH!" Komaru suddenly yelped, nearly toppling over. Jack glanced up at the sudden appearance of stark white and prepared for battle.

Shirokuma dragged himself out of a pipe on the wall with a squeak, as if he were made of soap. He tumbled down onto the ground with a plop. Before long, he was upright and smiling stupidly at the two.

"Oh… Shirokuma…" Komaru let out a half-sigh of relief.

"Hey! Why'd you come out here?! You should've just let us in!" snarled Jack.

Shirokuma looked troubled. "Well, we couldn't see what was making that banging sound with the shutters down, so the others sent me to scout ahead…"

"I don't care why, get back in there and tell them to open it! Komaru is badly hurt!" Jack shoved her scissors in Shirokuma's direction.

Komaru could only give an internal wry laugh. _What happened to this being a 'low-level gash'..._

Shirokuma seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and jumped back up the pipe, his body disappearing into it and eventually his wriggling legs too. Jack looked over her shoulder at Komaru. "Don't you fret now. You're gonna be fine, okay?"

"Yes," Komaru nodded. "I'm... not going to die."

Even though she had been the one insisting it first, Jack beamed when Komaru reiterated the phrase. The beaming only lasted for a moment before reverting into her usual self-assured smirk, but Komaru had already imprinted the image onto her memory.

Finally, the door opened, allowing them entry to the Resistance's secret base. Shirokuma was looking at them with worry as they shuffled in at snail's pace. 

"It's those two girls."

"The ones who fought the Monokumas?"

"They're hurt!"

A few of the adults recognized them and rushed over to help. Jack was eventually forced to let Komaru be swept away into their care, despite her noisy protests.

"Move it, people! Former nurse coming through!" called a voice. Hiroko Hagakure strode through the throng of adults, who parted like the red sea under her withering gaze. Komaru was quickly passed into her arms by the others. 

"What's going on here?" someone else asked. The fuss died down as Haiji Towa, leader of the Resistance, approached the crowd.

"Listen up!" Jack proclaimed. "My partner in crime is about to kick the bucket here! She needs treatment."

"So you brought her here to leech off our supplies," Haiji finished. "At any rate, you two need to stop showing up unannounced. What if you led the Monokumas straight to us?"

"I didn't though!"

He turned to the white bear. "And you, Shirokuma… you've got to stop opening the shutter for everything."

"I'm sorry," said Shirokuma. "They looked so scared that I couldn't help but pity them."

"It's okay. I know that's just your nature. But as for these two…" Haiji looked back at Jack.

She bit her lip and did something she never thought she'd do. She actually bowed to someone.

"Please. I'll never ask for anything from your group ever again." She beseeched, her braids hanging down over her face. Komaru glanced up at them, peering past Hiroko as the older woman prepared some kind of bottle.

One by one, the adults started weighing in.

"They protected the shelter, can't we help them out?"

"We can make an exception."

"Those two might be the only ones who can defeat those things! We can't let them die!"

Haiji narrowed his eyes, swayed by the votes of the public. He looked at Jack, who was still bent over at a strange angle. 

"All right," he said. "But I want you out of here as soon as she can travel again."

Jack wasted no time and ran off to where Komaru and Hiroko were.

"How's it hanging, Haggy? Will she be okay?"

"I don't appreciate being given such an unflattering nickname," Hiroko murmured, somewhat hypocritically, as she disinfected the wound. "But Koko will be fine. She's a tough girl, isn't that right?"

"Yes!" Jack bobbed up and down like a bobblehead doll.

Hiroko frowned a bit. "You… somehow seem different from before."

"What, cause I'm better looking? I have smoother skin? I don't have such a gloomy aura?"

"Fufu, do you have a personality disorder?" Hiroko interrupted.

"I'm a capable independent woman- wait, what'd you say?" Jack was dumbfounded. Even the barely conscious Komaru looked taken aback.

"I worked in a hospital, you know." Hiroko continued. "I wasn't in the psychiatrics ward, but you still hear a thing or two."

"And what if I do?" This could get dicey. If the Resistance figured out there was a bona fide serial killer in their midst, they would throw the two of them out without question. She didn't care about these adults either way, but it would be bad if they doubted Komaru now.

"Relax," said Hiroko, returning to her work. "In the medical field, the first thing I learned is to see people as patients, regardless of what kind of person they are. I'm probably the only one here who could talk to you from a place of knowledge."

"Listen, Haggy, I'm real grateful for the help and all, but can you not pry?" Jack sighed. "You of all people should know how much trauma it takes to produce someone as wacky and wonderful as me."

Hiroko raised an eyebrow. "Aight. But the offer's there if you change your mind."

Jack nodded. She watched in silence for a while as Komaru's treatment continued.

-

When she woke up, she was Toko again.

The first thing she saw was Komaru sitting up in bed, humming to herself. 

"Ah! Where are we?!" Toko burst out. She was really getting tired of waking up in unfamiliar places.

"The Resistance," said Komaru with a smile.

"And WHAT are we doing here?" she gave the room a once-over. It was the same dingy cell where they'd slept over before.

"It's kind of a long story," Komaru replied. There was a rustling of fabric as she searched for something. "Hold on, where is it…"

"Komaru?"

"Got it!" Komaru called out, brandishing a book like it was a weapon. No, wait… it wasn't a book… it was manga.

Toko was about to curtly demand another explanation when the manga was forced into her hands.

"We managed to get the first volume after all." explained Komaru. "It's a bit grimy, but you don't mind, right?"

Toko looked at it, dumbfounded. Then a thought hit her. "When you say 'we'..."

"Yeah, Jack did most of the heavy lifting on this one. She picked it up so fast, I didn't realize she had it."

"But why… why would she do that?" Toko bit her thumb. "There's nothing in it for her."

"She doesn't hate you, Toko," Komaru smiled sadly. "I know things haven't always been great between you-"

"That's an understatement."

"But she doesn't want you to be unhappy, either. I think it's almost like a peace offering."

"P-Peace offering… ridiculous." Toko smirked. She still held the manga tight - Komaru had surely struggled to obtain it.

"Ow!"

Toko turned tail and rushed over to the bedside. "Komaru? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… it's just my stomach acting up…"

"Let me see!" Maddened by worry, Toko pulled the blanket back to reveal Komaru's bandaged abdomen.

"Gyaaah! Wh-what happened to you?!" she wailed, recoiling instantly. The reaction gave Komaru a sense of deja vu.

"Things got a little out of hand yesterday…" she said.

"A _little?-"_ Toko repeated incredulously. "You haven't been th-this injured in a long time!"

"It's a low-level gash, don't worry. Miss Hagakure has been taking good care of me," Komaru said, attempting to reassure herself just as much as Toko.

"At least someone in that family has their head on straight." Toko mused.

"She came by earlier. Said she'd bring us breakfast in bed." 

"I don't k-know how to feel about that..."

"It means, we have time to kill until we get food and Mr Haiji kicks us out." Komaru's face brightened. "Why don't we read together?"

"W-Well… I don't have a problem with it, but I just want to check one thing…" Toko mumbled, pressing the tips of her fingers together. "You didn't… get hurt because of me, did you?"

"No!" Komaru said emphatically. "You protected me, Toko! It was the Monokuma that did this."

"I assume sh-she already took care of that, but…" She looked away. "Please, be more careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

Komaru folded her arms and pouted again. "That goes for you too, Toki!"

Toko squealed in embarrassment at the nickname, burying her face in the sheets and squirming. At that moment, Hiroko entered the dusty cell with a tray of buttered toast.

"Wow… a normal meal." Toko clapped her hands.

"Thank you for all your help," said Komaru, bowing a little. Hiroko smiled.

"You can thank me by staying in bed and getting well."

"Roger that," Komaru saluted. Toko stifled a snort. She finally opened the manga she'd been given and tried not to recoil from prejudice.

Komaru looked over her warmly, encouragement in her eyes. She held the book open in the middle, her hand overlapping with Toko's. 

Then, they started to read.


End file.
